Saturday, March 17, 2007

Éire Go Brách, (or Erin Go Bragh)


Irish Pipers for St. Paddy's



*WARNING*

A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger, and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food manufactured by Menu Foods Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths.

An unknown number of cats and dogs suffered kidney failure and about 10 died after eating the affected food, although product testing has yet to determine the problem. Apparently, the recalled food was made using wheat gluten purchased from a new supplier, since dropped for another source, a spokesperson said. Wheat gluten is a source of protein.

The recall covers the company's "cuts and gravy" style food, which consists of chunks of meat in gravy, sold in cans and small foil pouches between Dec. 3 and March 6 throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

My dog gets one of those little pouches as a special treat with her dinner. I had a bunch of the Pedigree and Wal-Mart brand pouches. The Wal-Mart pouches are now in the trash can, even though none of them were purchased prior to March 6. I'm not taking any chances. If you use these products, take the necessary precautions.

Evening Update: My friend Southern Writer, whose cats ate the food, has lost one of her cats to kidney failure, and has another currently on dialysis. Some of the symptoms of poisoning by this food include excessive thirst and urination, lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea. Southern Writer advises that if your animal has eaten any food on the list, call your vet NOW and don't wait for symptoms to appear.

You can check the recall list here to see whether your pet food is included. Be advised that the list includes name brands like Iams and Eukanuba.

And now on to the St. Paddy's festivities.

Saint Patrick was not actually Irish. Historical sources report that he was born around 373 A.D. in either Scotland (near the town of Dumbarton) or in Roman Britain (the Romans left Britain in 410 A.D.).

His real name is believed to be Maewyn Succat (he took on Patrick, or Patricus, after he became a priest). He was kidnapped at the age of 16 by pirates and sold into slavery in Ireland. During his 6-year captivity, during which he worked as a shepherd, he began to have religious visions. He finally escaped after voices in one of his visions told him where he could find a getaway ship and fled to France, where he became a priest and, later, a bishop.

When he was about 60 years old, St. Patrick traveled to Ireland to spread the Christian word. It's said that Patrick had an unusually winning personality, and that helped him win converts. He used the shamrock, which resembles a three-leafed clover, as a metaphor to explain the concept of the Trinity (father, son, holy spirit).

Legend has it that Saint Patrick drove all the snakes out of Ireland; i.e., they all went into the sea and drowned. The thinking is that the snake was a revered pagan symbol, and perhaps this was symbolic of his driving paganism out of Ireland.

Green is associated with Saint Patrick's Day because it is the color of spring, Ireland, and the shamrock -- and Leprechauns.

Green Humor

As the Irishman said to William Wallace in "Braveheart" -- "The Lord said he can get me out of this one, but he's pretty sure you're fucked."

Q. What is Irish diplomacy?
A. It's the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he will look forward to making the trip.

Paddy and Murphy were walking down a road one day. Paddy said, "Murphy, can you see that beautiful wood over there?" Murphy said, "I can't see, there's trees in the way!"

Two drunks coming home stumbled up the country road in the dark. "Faith, Mike, we've stumbled into the graveyard and here's the stone of a man lived to the age of 103!" "Glory be, Patrick, and was it anybody we knew?" "No, 'twas someone named 'Miles from Dublin'!"


Twisted Linguistics drank a little green beer and attempted to define these Words Gone Wild. You'll have to be the judge of how well they did.

give it a wide birth - Having a BIG baby.

Lebonese - Pidgin-French for "the bones."

strait-laced - All tucked (and comfy) into one's straitjacket.


I love the opening line of Lisa Scottoline's new book ("Daddy's Girl") -- Nat Greco felt like an A cup in a double-D bra.

22 comments:

Hale McKay said...

...an A-cup in a double-D bra ...

Now that is some imagery.

Serena said...

LOL. I figured you'd appreciate that.:)

puerileuwaite said...

Hey! I'm part-Irish! But I only knew a Kilometers from Dublin ...

Serena said...

And which part o' ye is Irish, darlin'?:)

rkfinnell said...

I wanted to put Irish music on my blog. I'm clueless how to do it. LOL

Serena said...

It's been my experience that it's hard to find a player that's compatible with all browsers. You could, however, find a YouTube with Irish music and embed that on your blog.

Corn Dog said...

I've been chasing that cat/dog food saga and it looks like it is not only the gravy related stuff but a lot of the fish series too. My best advice is to throw out any of the food from those companies ASAP. Sorry to interrupt the Paddy's day. Back to the regularly scheduled show now.

Serena said...

CD, did you take a look at the list? It's huge, and includes a lot of different types of pet food. A lot of brands, too. This is scary as hell for pet owners. I hope your dogs haven't eaten anything on the list.

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

Thanks for helping spread the warning, Serena Joy. I hope no one else has to go through this, cuz I'll tell you, it's hard as hell.

Serena said...

I hope nobody else has to go through it, too, Lesia. What you've been through with your kitties is just heartbreaking. You have my thoughts and prayers for the little one's recovery.

Corn Dog said...

I looked at the list as soon as Southern Writer sent it over and then I got on the phone. I got 2 hits from friends and relatives. It is way messed up. I feed my crew Natural Balance so we are okay. I am so sorry Southern Writer. Your warning is much appreciated. I spent several hours on the phone and emailing all my buddies, particularly since most of my family lives in the Tennessee/Georgia area where Southern Writer is. I think the batches of the bad stuff may have hit there.

Stacia said...

Wow, I've never been so glad not to have pets. How awful this is.

tfg said...

The recalled pet food is still OK for people, though, right?

rkfinnell said...

I don't know if my daughter's clinic has come across any pets who have eaten this food. They are probably aware of it, but I put out the word to her anyway.

Camille Alexa said...

Thanks for the history post, SJ, I enjoyed it!

Serena said...

Don't worry, TFG. You can still have your treats.:)

DQ, I haven't heard of this being a problem in England, so you'd be okay if you did have pets.

CD & Roxan, the list is actually growing. Products made by Menu Foods for Nestle Purina PetCare and Hill's Pet Nutrition have been voluntarily recalled as a precaution. Menu is also a contract manufacturer for top branded pet foods, including Procter & Gamble.

Thank you, Littlebird. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

leelee said...

Green Humor (from probably the worst joke teller of all time..me)

What's green...and sits behind the house on your deck...


..........................


..........................

Give uP?????????

PADDY-O FURNITURE

ok ok..I'm sorry

leelee said...

ok wait...I'd like to redeem myself...this is a good one...

Why is a pig's tail...like getting up in the morning???

................................

...............................

give up??

Cuz....it's T'WIRLY (get it...too early??/ twirly??)

Serena said...

LOL, Leelee. You're on a roll. I hadn't heard the pig's tail one before.:)

cathy said...

Searched everywhere on this blog for something offensive to be indignant about. Didn't find a fucking thing :)

Serena said...

Searched everywhere on this blog for something offensive to be indignant about. Didn't find a fucking thing

Then I'm not doing my job. LMAO! I like you, Cathy.:)

astrologymemphis.blogspot.com said...

Roxan just reminded me - I had to tell my vet about the recall! They'd been in the clinic all day without a TV, and hadn't heard. They prepared for an epidemic, but thankfully, there were only two canine victims when I went to see Sneezy tonight. Sadly, they're both very, very sick.